SPECIAL ISSUE: Biofeedback-Integrated Exposure Therapy

Exposure therapy is an evidence-based psychotherapeutic technique for anxiety and related disorders. However, the dropout rate ranges from 10%–30%, and poor outcomes such as dropout are predicted by lower resting heart rate variability (HRV), which, in turn, predicts neural correlates of anxiety. Incorporating biofeedback into traditional exposure therapy has the potential to improve patient outcomes and experience through two protocols: (a) framing respiration and HRV biofeedback as a preparatory intervention for exposure therapy and (b) integrating selected biofeedback modalities into traditional exposure therapy sessions.